Friday, November 21, 2008

What are your Holiday Traditions?

Everyone loves hearing about other families and their holiday traditions. Please share your family traditions for the holidays. It could be something you have done just once, planning to do for the first time, or traditions that have been around for generations!

6 comments:

Melanie Farrell said...

How adorable they all are lined up with those santa hats! I'm going to have to see if I can get the crew over here to do that :) We made some handprint ornaments last week, they were so easy and turned out cute (pics on my blog). We are working on a craft project every week - paper ornaments this weekend.

Party of 5 said...

We started a new one a couple of years ago (this will be our third year doing it). We have our Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve..go all out...have people over. Then on Christmas we have NOTHING to do but hang out and enjoy our kids. I heart it!!!!

Anonymous said...

This is so fun to see what everyone does. I'll have to check out those handprint ornaments.

Ok, We always get our Christmas tree the first Monday in December and do the whole decorating thing and have hot chocolate and donuts (like you guys do). Drew had to carry on the tradition.

We also get each of the boys a Christmas ornament every year just for them. I date what year it is. Then, when they leave home, they can take them with them, and will not have to start with an empty tree!

We have a few others but I can't think of them at the moment.

This Girl loves to Talk said...

we put the tree up first FHE in december

we have a grandparents dinner.. my husband cooks it all.. turkey and everything and we invite both sets of grandparents (our parents) so the kids can have them to themselves without all the cousins over usually the second sunday in december

we do advent with fun family activites to do in the pockets

we get new pjama's on Christmas eve (this is a USA tradition i saw on a blog and copied it) it can be a little difficult in Australia as it is really really hot here at christmas and pretty much the kids just wear underwear.. but oh well.. I try :)

The kids look at christmas lights/decorated houses with their grandma

we do a gingerbread house/man decorating day

I wrap up all our christmas books and we unwrap one and read one each night in december

we go to the temple and see the nativity out the front

go watch the first presidency christmas devotional (which is showed in the chapel with is right next to the only temple within 1000km)

we love nativity sets and have a few around the house.. my kids love playing with those things.. so consequently I have been through a few... baby jesus has a broken arm in one set :)

I could go on and on.. I love Christmas :) and family traditions.. I really focus more on those than presents and you know what.. my girls are starting to ask "when are we doing....." not even asking much about presents.. so I know all the effort put in to traditions is SO worth it

Anonymous said...

Hello Grandma Shelly,
I'm Michelle and you responded to my question with wonderful suggestions about how to fill a gift basket. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank-you for doing that. Your suggestions were wonderful and so varied. I would never have come up with so many on my own.
We have been doing this with the kids for about seven years now and they still seem eager to do it. Coming up with new ideas each year is getting harder. You can make only so many shelves and birdfeeders.
I'll try and send you pictures of them making this years project.
Thanks again. Gia5

Grandma Shelley said...

I'm loving the comments and ideas. It is always fun to add new traditions that other families enjoy.

Michelle you are very welcome for the gift basket ideas. People tell me I have a brain for ideas! All I know is that I love coming up with them.

For those of you that don't know what we are talking about Michelle and her husband do woodworking together with their grandchildren at Christmas to create gifts for the parents from the children. This year they were making a gift basket and placing a gift of service written out on paper for each parent. They had to come up with ideas for every month of the year. I loved her idea of the gift that kept on giving all year long.